Short quotations — say, no more than three or four lines — usually appear in the text surrounded by quotation marks, "like this." Longer direct quotations, though — and sometimes shorter quotations of poetry — should be set off as block quotations or extracts, thus:

Notice that the quotation is indented on both sides: most word processors make that easy. Notice, too, that you don't use quotation marks around a block quotation: the indention (not "indentation") is enough to indicate it's a quotation. Some house styles prefer block quotations to be single-spaced, others like them double-spaced; that's not something to fret about unless you're writing for publication.

Always be sure to include proper citations in block quotations; the usual route is to put the citation in parentheses after the closing punctuation in the quotation itself.

Bluntness.

Writing is too often wimpy. Don't be afraid to be blunt. Instead of "There appear to be indications that the product heretofore referred to may be lacking substantial qualitative consummation, suggesting it may be incommensurate with the standards previously established by this department," try "It's bad" or "It doesn't work." Of course you should be sensitive to your reader's feelings — there's no need to be vicious or crude, and saying "It sucks" won't win you many friends — but don't go too far in the opposite direction. Call 'em as you see 'em.

Boldface.

There's no reason to use boldface in an academic paper; spend your time writing, not fiddling with the word processor. See Fonts, Italics, and Titles.

If you use British spellings, use them consistently. Inconsistent British spellings are an affectation. (Of course other English-speaking countries have their own rules, which usually look to us like a medley of British and American spellings.) Jeremy Smith has assembled a catalogue of words that have different spellings in America and Britain.

Bugbears.

Arguments over grammar and style are often as fierce as those over Windows versus Mac, and as fruitless as Coke versus Pepsi and boxers versus briefs. Pedantic and vicious debates over knotty matters such as Prepositions at the End, That versus Which, and Split Infinitives may be entertaining to those who enjoy cockfights, but do little to improve writing. Know as much as you can about the rules, but strive above all for clarity and grace. Think always of the effect you'll have on your audience. Over time you'll come to trust your ear, which will be disciplined by reading the best authors and by constant practice at writing. See also Prescriptive versus Descriptive Grammars and Taste.

But at the Beginning.

Contrary to what your high school English teacher told you, there is no reason not to begin a sentence with but or and; in fact, these words often make a sentence more forceful and graceful. They are almost always better than beginning with however or additionally. Beginning with but or and does make your writing less formal; — but worse things could happen to most writing than becoming less formal.